Minato Namikaze
, also known as , was the . He was the student of Jiraiya and the teacher of Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, and Rin. He was the husband of Kushina Uzumaki and the father of Naruto Uzumaki. Background When Minato was in the Ninja Academy, his classmate and future wife Kushina Uzumaki thought he looked "flaky" and even "girly". He nevertheless dreamed of becoming acknowledged by the Konoha villagers by becoming Hokage, which Kushina considered to be an impossible dream. Later, when Kushina was kidnapped by Kumogakure ninja, Minato was the only Konoha ninja to pick up on the fact that she was leaving behind strands of her red hair to mark their path. After rescuing her, Minato explained that he had always admired her hair. No longer seeing him as "flaky", she fell in love with him. According to those who knew him, Minato was a very talented ninja, having been considered a rare genius that appeared only once a generation. He graduated from the Ninja Academy at the age of ten, and was added to a genin team under the tutelage of Jiraiya. Jiraiya took a special interest in Minato, and accepted him as an apprentice, amongst other things teaching him the Summoning Technique. Jiraiya even believed Minato might be the Child of the Prophecy, someone who would someday save the world. Konoha's Yellow Flash In time, Minato was put in charge of a genin team of his own, consisting of Rin, Obito Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake. During the Third Great Shinobi World War, Minato led his team on a mission into Kusagakure to destroy the Kannabi Bridge. Because Kakashi had recently become a jōnin, Minato gave leadership of the mission to Kakashi while he went to help Konoha's forces on the front lines. After meeting up with the surviving and out-numbered Konoha ninja, Minato used his Flying Thunder God Technique to destroy the opposing Iwagakure ninja. He then returned to his team, just in time to save Kakashi and Rin from another group of Iwa forces; he was too late to save Obito. When Kakashi and Rin recovered from the ordeal, Minato helped them complete the mission. Fourth Hokage When the war ended, Minato, not yet thirty years of age, was chosen to become the Fourth Hokage.Naruto chapter 450, page 15; Council mentioned that Minato was younger than what Kakashi is now (thirty years old) when he became the Hokage At some point during his reign he read Jiraiya's first book. He liked the main character's, Naruto's, determination, believing he was just like Jiraiya. Since Kushina was pregnant with their son, Minato informed Jiraiya that they planned to name their son "Naruto" in the hopes that he would be just like the main character and, in turn, Jiraiya. Jiraiya warned them that this would make him Naruto's godfather, but they insisted that this was a good thing.Naruto chapter 382, pages 08-11 Because Kushina was the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, special arrangements had to be made for Naruto's birth. Since the seal keeping the Nine-Tails within her would weaken during childbirth, Naruto would secretly be delivered in a remote location outside Konoha. ANBU would guard the area and Minato would maintain the seal while Kushina went into labor. Soon after Naruto was born they were found by Madara Uchiha. Madara killed all of the ANBU and took Naruto hostage, threatening to do the same to him. Minato was able to take Naruto back, but this gave Madara the chance to escape with Kushina. Minato found a safe place to put Naruto and then teleported to Kushina. He arrived in time to stop the Nine-Tails, having been removed from her body, from killing her, and teleported back to Naruto. Minato reunited mother and son and then went to help defend Konoha from the Nine-Tails. Minato arrived in the early stages of the Nine-Tails' attack. After protecting the village from its massive chakra blast, Minato tried to reach the Third Hokage to inform him of what had happened. He was stopped by Madara, who tried to send him away. Minato escaped but was followed by Madara. When the two began fighting, Minato struggled to hit Madara, Madara being intangible whenever he was not currently attacking. By carefully timing his Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato was able to strike him during one of these rare moments and apply a seal for the Flying Thunder God Technique to him, allowing him to teleport to Madara whenever he wanted. He placed a Contract Seal on Madara to remove the Nine-Tails from his control, forcing Madara to flee. When Minato returned to the village he found it in ruin. He summoned Gamabunta to distract the Nine-Tails long enough to teleport it away from the village to Naruto and Kushina's location. Kushina restrained it and, dying from the trauma of its removal, volunteered to have it sealed back into her body so that it would die with her. Distraught, Minato suggested instead using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal on the Nine-Tails to weaken it and then seal the rest into Naruto. Kushina objected since this would mean Minato's death and give Naruto a horrible, lonely life. Minato insisted it was for the best since Naruto, the "Child of the Prophecy" Jiraiya had once told him about, would need the Nine-Tails' power to someday defeat Madara. Kushina agreed. After Minato used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal on it, the Nine-Tails realized their intentions and tried to kill Naruto, but Minato and Kushina used their bodies to shield him. While Kushina gave a few finals words to Naruto, Minato summoned Gerotora, gave him the key to the seal he would use on Naruto, and sent him to Jiraiya. After Kushina told Naruto how much his parents loved him, Minato sealed the rest of her chakra into Naruto so that she would be able to seem him again when he was older, ending her life. He then sealed the Nine-Tails into Naruto. Since the Third Hokage had come to help, Minato used his last moments to request that Konoha think of Naruto as a hero, and not the container of the monster that caused so much death and destruction. Before he died he sealed his own chakra into Naruto so that he could someday see Naruto again too, specifically if ever the seal was about to break so that he could restore it. Legacy The Third Hokage did his best to look out for Naruto. He informed the survivors of the Nine-Tails' Attack on Konoha of Minato's last wish, but only those who had been close to Minato were willing to regard Naruto as anything but the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. Unable to change the minds of the populace, the Third forbade anyone from speaking of the Nine-Tails, hoping that those too young to remember the Nine-Tails' attack would not hate Naruto as the rest of the village had. He gave Naruto his mother's surname so that his relation to Minato would be kept a secret from Minato's enemies. He otherwise did his best to give Naruto a comfortable life despite Naruto having no parents and being made into an outcast by the rest of the village. Naruto would never be told his parents' identities, and neither would most of Konoha. With Minato's death, the Third was forced to resume his position as Hokage, a role he filled until his death, never being able to find a replacement of Minato's caliber. Minato himself became regarded as the village's hero and, indeed, one of the greatest ninja Konoha had ever produced, so much so that villagers would regret his death whenever tragedy struck the village. Because Minato was never able to tell anyone what happened during the Nine-Tails' attack, villagers were forced to make their own explanations. Jiraiya recognized that Minato would not have sealed the Nine-Tails into his own son unless he had a good reason and that Minato intended Naruto to gain control of the Nine-Tails, but could never satisfactorily explain why. Appearance Minato's normal attire was a standard Konoha-nin uniform and a flak jacket with two bands each on both of his sleeves; after becoming Hokage, he also wore a short-sleeve long white coat with red flame edges and the kanji "Fourth Hokage" written vertically down on the back. On more than one occasion, Naruto has been said to look strikingly like his father Minato. Like Naruto, Minato had bright blue-eyes and spiky blond hair with the addition of jaw-length bangs framing either side of his face. According to Jiraiya, Minato was considered to be very handsome as many women became infatuated with him. Personality Jiraiya and Tsunade pointed out that, while Naruto physically bears great resemblance to Minato, his personality is almost identical to his mother. While Naruto is boisterous and relatively thick, Minato was calm, collected, and highly perceptive. When faced with an enemy, he could kill in cold blood, and seemed well aware of the terror his reputation inspired in his foes. He appeared to be respectful of those around him; he didn't like freely speaking about others' pasts, and was said to be a very nice person. He deeply cared and loved his wife and child, becoming very nervous because of Kushina's pain during labor and even crying of joy when his son was born. Jiraiya said that Minato was a shrewd person, and was not a man who would do something without reason. This gave Minato incredible foresight and allowed him to form plan several years into the future, such as the sealing of the Nine-Tails within his son. He was very knowledgeable of the ninja world, concluding that only Madara Uchiha would have the power or the reason to have the Nine-Tails attack Konoha. Minato was known for his unbeatable determination and unbelievable drive, which he passed onto his son. Apparently in his youth, Minato also had a desire to be acknowledged by everyone in the village and to become a great Hokage, again, a trait passed onto his son. His devotion to the village and his love for his friends inspired all those around him, and, as a result, he became well-liked by the villagers. Minato was nevertheless understanding that Naruto must feel hurt by the fact that his own father had sealed a monster inside him. Abilities According to Jiraiya, Minato was one of the most gifted shinobi who ever lived. Anko, in discussion with the Third Hokage about Orochimaru's immense strength and his threat to the village, stated that she wished the Fourth had been alive to face him. During the Third Great Shinobi War, flee-on-sight orders were given to enemy ninjas should they ever see him appear on the battlefield. Minato was also capable of countering the Nine-Tails' attacks to the point Madara himself needed to step in to face him directly. After their battle, Madara commended Minato and stated he was worthy of the title of the Fourth Hokage.Naruto chapter 503, page 08 Like Tobirama Senju, Minato could also sense the presence of persons within an area by simply placing his finger on the ground. In his youth, Jiraiya taught Minato how to use the Summoning Technique to summon toads. He had the chakra reserves to summon Gamabunta and was one of the few people that Gamabunta would willingly cooperate with. Intelligence Minato was shown to be very intuitive and clever from a young age. Of the many ninja sent out to save Kushina from her Kumogakure kidnappers, Minato was the only one to notice the trail of hair she was leaving. After seeing a technique once, he could correctly deduce the basic mechanics behind it, such as the strengths and weaknesses of Kakashi's Chidori. During difficult battles, he was still capable of maintaining his composure, assessing the situation, and devising an appropriate plan of action. Speed One of Minato's trademark attributes was his immense speed and seemingly instantaneous reflexes. C compared the Fourth Raikage's reflexes to Minato's while A was using the Lightning Release Armor.Naruto chapter 462, page 04 Even without using his Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato could out run an explosion, only receiving a shallow shrapnel wound.Naruto chapter 501, pages 04-06 He could also respond to Madara's space-time jutsu quickly enough to escape it.Naruto chapter 502, pages 16-17 Space Time Ninjutsu Minato was infamous for his unique space-time technique, the Flying Thunder God Technique, which essentially allowed him to teleport to any location with the use of special seals. The jutsu earned him the nickname of Konoha's "Yellow Flash", due of the near untraceable speed at which Minato moved when using this technique. By throwing kunai that had the seal attached to them behind enemy lines, Minato could wipe out an entire platoon in the blink of an eye. Minato could teleport to his special kunai even as traveled through the air. He was able to apply the seal to solid surfaces with his bare hands, allowing him to tag opponents and give him an easy way to track and reach them. He also incorporated the seal formula into Kushina's seal so he could always come to her aid. For defensive use, Minato was capable of implementing space-time barriers to counter large attacks such as a Nine-Tailed Fox Menacing Ball, sending the blast to a distant area away from the village,Naruto chapter 502, pages 07-08 and was able to teleport the Nine-Tails as well.Naruto chapter 503, pages 11-12 Rasengan Minato spent three years creating the Rasengan, the highest level of shape transformation. The technique does not need hand signs, instead using a concentration of spinning chakra in the form of a sphere in the user's palm, which inflicts immense damage to its target on contact. As its creator, Minato had great mastery of the Rasengan, able to form it with one hand and his standard version being slightly larger than the Rasengan used by other characters. He had intended to to combine the Rasengan with his own nature transformation, but the task was too difficult and he was not able to do so by the time of his death. Sealing Techniques Minato was very knowledgeable of fūinjutsu, partially due to Kushina teaching him some of the Uzumaki clan's famed seals. He knew the full capabilities of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, aware that it could not completely seal the Nine-Tails' chakra. Minato could also remove an opponent's ability to use the Summoning Technique.Naruto chapter 503, page 05 The greatest example of his prowess with fūinjutsu is the seal used on Naruto: two Four Symbols Seal ( known as the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style), which would cause small amounts of the Nine-Tails' chakra to leak out and naturally mix with Naruto's own. He then stored Kushina's and his own chakra into Naruto so that they could see him when he was older, even allowing him to restore the seal whenever this occurred. Part II For most of the series, Minato was only referred to in passing. Later, in Part II, he began appearing in flashbacks. Invasion of Pain Arc It was not until the invasion of Pain that he made an actual appearance in the story. When Naruto started to give into the temptations of power from the Nine-Tails, and was about to release the beast, the imprint Minato left behind stopped him. Although he voiced his dislike of seeing the Nine-Tails again, he pointed out that its actions had allowed him to see his son. Naruto picked up on this, and was overjoyed to finally find out who his father was. Minato tried to talk with Naruto, but the Nine-Tails kept interrupting the conversation, so they went someplace that was quiet. Naruto was outraged at the idea that Minato would seal the Nine-Tails in his own son, which Minato apologized for. Although Naruto punched him in anger, he quickly got over it, believing it was what he should do as the Fourth's son. Because he had a limited amount of time to talk to Naruto, Minato briefly caught up with him, at the same time indicating that he knew Pain had killed Jiraiya and was aware of Konoha's destruction as he saw it through Naruto. He expressed his suspicions that Pain, like the Nine-Tails years earlier, was being controlled by Madara Uchiha. He went onto suggest that, as long as the current ninja system exists, people like Pain, who were ruined by war and only went on to new wars, will continue to exist. He restored the seal on Naruto's stomach, and encouraged Naruto to find a way to stop the vicious cycle of death and destruction, voicing his confidence in Naruto before disappearing. Movies Naruto Shippūden 4: The Lost Tower Minato was shown to have been interacting with Naruto when the latter was transported twenty years back into the past by the missing-nin Mukade. He asked for his son's aid at his attempt to intervene in the crisis in Rouran with his team-mates Shibi Aburame and Chōza Akimichi (aided by a young Kakashi Hatake). Trivia * "Minato" means and "Namikaze" means . * He appears in all of the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja games as an ultimate jutsu of Naruto's called "Mysterious Aid Arrives", and is a playable character in Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3, Ultimate Ninja 4: Naruto Shippūden, Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja 5, Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 and Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2. * Minato's silhouette can be seen in the background of the [[Blue Bird|''Naruto Shippūden third opening]] standing behind Naruto and Sora and under the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, in reference to its attack on Konoha that binds all four characters. * According to the third Naruto databook: ** Minato's hobby was reading. Jiraiya's novels were his favorite. ** Minato wished to fight Jiraiya. ** Minato's favorite food was Kushina's homemade cooking. ** Minato completed 847 official missions in total: 122 D-rank, 147 C-rank, 216 B-rank, 323 A-rank, 39 S-rank. ** Minato's favorite phrase was . Quotes * (As a child, when asked what his dream for the future was) "I want everyone in the village to acknowledge me and become a great Hokage!" * (To Kushina, when he rescued her from her kidnappers) "I noticed your ''beautiful hair right away." * (To his team) "''The most important thing for a shinobi is teamwork!" * (To Jiraiya) "You're a man with a true skill... an example we should all follow. I can't think of a finer shinobi than you!" * (To Kushina about sealing the Nine-Tails inside Naruto) "Have a little faith! He is our son after all!" * (Last words) "Naruto... This is your dad. Listen... To your Kushina." * (To Naruto) "Pain was the one who killed Jiraiya-sensei, but the more I think about it, the more I believe he was killed by that disorder that gave birth to Pain." * (To Naruto) "You will find the answer... I believe in you." References